America is days away from breaking a record for the longest government shutdown in history. The standoff could reach 35 days before the Senate returns on Monday. As Washington waits, a new political showdown is forming — and once again, Donald Trump is at its center.
President Trump has called on Republicans to abolish the Senate filibuster. The rule, unique to the Senate, allows a minority of senators to block legislation by preventing a final vote so long as at least 41 of them oppose it. Supporters argue it encourages compromise and stops one party from pushing through sweeping reforms without broad consensus.
Trump, however, made clear that patience with procedure has run out.
“It is now time for the Republicans to play their ‘TRUMP CARD,’ and go for what is called the Nuclear Option — Get rid of the Filibuster, and get rid of it, NOW!” he wrote late Thursday night on Truth Social.
“Now WE are in power, and if we did what we should be doing, it would IMMEDIATELY end this ridiculous, Country destroying ‘SHUT DOWN,’” he continued. “If the Republicans are not using the Great Strength and Policies made available to us by ending the Filibuster, the Democrats will exercise their rights, and it will be done in the first day they take office, regardless of whether or not we do it.”
THE CHOICE IS CLEAR – INITIATE THE ‘NUCLEAR OPTION,’ GET RID OF THE FILIBUSTER
President Trump
The Filibuster’s Recent History
In 2013, during President Barack Obama’s term, the Senate changed how the filibuster worked. The new rule allowed executive and judicial nominees, except for Supreme Court justices, to be confirmed by a simple majority instead of the previous 60-vote requirement. That change, known as the “nuclear option,” reduced the power of the minority to block appointments.
At the time, President Obama defended the move as a necessary response to what he described as obstructionist tactics.
“All too often, we’ve seen a single senator or a handful of senators choose to abuse arcane procedural tactics to unilaterally block bipartisan compromises, or to prevent well-qualified, patriotic Americans from filling critical positions of public service in our system of government,” said Obama in 2013 at the press briefing.
“Now, at a time when millions of American have desperately searched for work, repeated abuse of these tactics have blocked legislation that might create jobs. They’ve defeated actions that would help women fighting for equal pay. They’ve prevented more progress than we would have liked for striving young immigrants trying to earn their citizenship. Or it’s blocked efforts to end tax breaks for companies that are shipping jobs overseas. They’ve even been used to block common-sense and widely supported steps to protect more Americans from gun violence, even as families of victims sat in the Senate chamber and watched. And they’ve prevented far too many talented Americans from serving their country at a time when their country needs their talents the most.”
Republicans and Democrats remain deadlocked over how to bring the shutdown to an end, now entering its fourth week.
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